Tuesday, 21 February 2017

The universe works in mysterious ways. I believe the universe connects us with the people we are destined to meet. You’ve probably heard the saying, “we don’t meet people by accident. They are meant to cross our path for a reason”. Sometimes they are there for a brief moment and other times for a lifetime.

People come into our life in many different ways, at a party, meeting or a random event; strangers sitting next to you on a bus or flight, and perhaps these days, on the internet. But somehow when you meet them you feel such strong bond and connection you don’t quite understand.

I met my best friend on the island, Lilla, at a Chinese restaurant over two years ago. We sat across from each other. I was with a group of friends and she was by herself. We made eye contact and I asked her, “Hi, where are you from?” She said, “Indonesia”. “Me too”, I said. Then we invited her to our table and that was our first encounter and the first of our many dinners together.

A couple of weeks later, on my birthday, I discovered that Lilla and I share the exact same birthday. How bizarre! As we get to know each other more, and upon each other’s observation, we found out we share so many similar qualities and we often joke that we are long lost twin sibling; separated at birth and we each had a half of a medallion.

Lilla is the kind of friend you can truly rely on. Spending time with Lilla feels like I have known her forever and we always have fun catching up at the end of a long week with a cocktail or three.

Myself, Lilla and Espresso Martini

Not long ago, Lilla was doing a garage sale and she wanted something sweet to present at the sale. Of course I was happy to help and I baked her a tray of Sebastian’s Remarkably Wonderful Brownies from Dorie’s Cookies.

I love cookbook that has a story to tell and Dorie’s Cookies is one of them. Dorie and Sebastian started as pen pals in the early days of food forums on the internet until they finally met in Paris. I’m glad they became friends and that Sebastian shared his brownie recipe to Dorie.

"They’re unusual in the way they’re made and extraordinary in how they taste. The texture is neither cakey nor fudgy, but creamy, slightly chewy at the center and slightly crunchy at the edges."

I have made these brownies twice now and this recipe is definitely one to keep in your repertoire. There’s a lot of sugar in this brownie, but somehow they’re not sickly sweet and it is very chocolatey. Dorie mentions that the secret is cocoa powder, which gives the brownies their deep colour and flavour. There’s quite a lot of cocoa powder here, so I would definitely invest in really good quality ones.

Sebastian's Remarkably Wonderful Brownies

Wrapped well, the brownies will keep at room temperature for about three days, but I doubt it’ll last that long. Trust me.

So, have you met someone who share the same birthday as you? Do you find similar traits or qualities?

Tuesday, 7 February 2017

I think it's very appropriate that I begin this baking project with the cookie that's on the cover of the book: World Peace Cookies.

Don't you just love the name? I know I do... and I feel with all the terrible things that are happening around the world, we could certainly use a little or a lot of peace. I wish everyone could have a bite of this cookie and perhaps, just perhaps, the world will become a better place, even just for a minute.

This is a seriously good chocolaty chocolate cookies. A recipe I know I'll be making again and again. It's sweet with a touch of salt from fleur de sel. I love its soft interior and the chunks of bittersweet chocolate still molten even after baking.

Like Dorie, I would also highly suggest that you splurge and use really good quality cocoa powder. My personal favourite is Green & Black's Organic. As well as best quality bittersweet chocolate.

The making of the dough itself is straightforward and I chose to turn the dough into logs and freezing them before slicing and baking. After 12 minutes in the oven, do not panic if the cookies look like they're not done, that's just the way they should be. You won't be able to lift them (how do I know? I tried) and just be patient, and let them rest until they're just warm, at which point now you can handle and eat them.

I started blogging eight years ago, in 2009. I just
turned twenty-one, and I wanted to be a better cook; and the blog is a mean of
documenting my learning experience. In my first year of blogging, I set myself
a challenge and I cooked my way through Jamie Oliver'sMy
Guide to Making You A Better Cookcookbook. It was a wonderful learning
experience and a year I’ll never forget.

It was then when I learn how to make homemade pasta, roast
the most wonderful pork belly with my favourite braised red cabbage
accompaniment, and I learn to prepare live lobsters and crabs.

I know I've been terrible at blogging. Not that I've stopped
cooking, baking and eating at home entirely; you know, that's not true if you
follow my Instagram (@michael_toa). But I do want to make a commitment to come
back and share more of my learning experience with all of you.

Through this blog, new friendships are made with so many
around the world. I’ve gotten opportunities to work with brands and products I
adore. And this blog also contributed to how I got to where I am now.

So, with that in mind, I am starting a new project! I have
decided to bake my way through Dorie Greenspan’s Dorie’s Cookies. I love this
book the first time I saw it and was very happy when… let’s call this person M (like M in James
Bond), for a bit of mystery (and we’ll talk more about M if you’d like in the
coming posts) … M gave it to me as a Christmas present.

With over 160 mouth-watering cookie recipes both sweet and
savoury (I am already loving the Cocktail Cookie section) to traybakes,
marshmallows and ice-creams I look forward to baking and eating all of them; as
well as few friends who gladly volunteered to tasting all of them.

I am very excited and I look forward to sharing my experience
with all of you.